264 RIDING VICIOUS HORSES. 



it made, down went her head, and if I did not come off, I 

 generally had a very near escape. I believe I am correct 

 in saying, that as a rule there is no vice which a horse, if 

 mastered a few times, forgets so readily as buck-jumping. 

 Many Australians can sit these horses to perfection, though 

 men who have not learned during their youth to do so in the 

 Colonies, very rarely acquire the knack. In fact I have never 

 known a man whose riding experiences were limited to horses 

 bred in the United Kingdom and similar countries, to be able 

 to sit a bad Colonial buck-jumper. Although I had a good 

 deal to do with animals of this class, when I lived in India, I 

 made no voluntary attempt to cultivate this art. 



If the rider finds that his horse is going to " put his back 

 up," he may pull him sharply round, and get his head up 

 before the animal can buck ; but he should be very careful 

 to keep a light hold on the reins, lest the horse by a sudden 

 downward dash of the head may pull him on to his neck, 

 in which case the animal will be almost certain to gain the 

 first fall, if, to use a Colonial expression, he " goes to market." 

 Herein lies the cause why so few of even our best riders 

 whose experience has been confined to English and Irish 

 horses, can sit a buck-jumper ; because, having been brought 

 up to the idea that they should always keep a " nice hold 

 of the horse's head," they cannot on a sudden emergency 

 relinquish the long accustomed habit, and are accordingly 

 put down. It is of course essential that the rider should 

 lean well back, and it is always well for him to watch the 

 animal's ears, so that he may accommodate his seat to the 

 erratic movements of his mount, that is to say if he can see 

 the animal's ears, but as a rule there are so many other 

 things to think about at such times, that taking a good 

 hold of the cantle and letting the reins slip through the 

 fingers may enable the inexperienced horseman to remain 

 in the saddle during the bucking performance, which luckily 



